Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalagiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaliedo.
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 1: It's episode four sixty seven. Today we're going to focus
Speaker 1: on something that quietly defines your leadership reputation. The words
Speaker 1: that you use. Every sentence you say as a leader
Speaker 1: either empowers your team or creates toxicity. And the kicker
Speaker 1: is most leaders don't even realize they're doing it. There's
Speaker 1: a great visual that I came across recently that compares
Speaker 1: the language of toxic leaders versus empowering leaders. The difference
Speaker 1: is subtle, but the impact is massive. So let's break
Speaker 1: this down in a real simple way and give you
Speaker 1: a few tools you can start using today. Let's start
Speaker 1: with the toxic side. Here are some common phrases that
Speaker 1: toxic leaders use. Please don't challenge me like that in meetings.
Speaker 1: I'll just do it myself. It's faster. That's not how
Speaker 1: I would have done it. You should start on this immediately.
Speaker 1: Let me take a look first before you send it. Now,
Speaker 1: read those again in your head. They might sound like
Speaker 1: a boss trying to stay in control or keep things
Speaker 1: running smoothly, but what they're really saying is I don't
Speaker 1: trust you, I don't believe you're ready, and my way
Speaker 1: is better than your way. This is how you accidentally
Speaker 1: destroy initiative. This is how you kill creativity. This is
Speaker 1: how people stop bringing you ideas. Now let's flip it
Speaker 1: to the empowering side. Listen to how these same situations
Speaker 1: are handled differently. Instead of don't challenge me, say thanks
Speaker 1: for raising that your input made it stronger. Instead of
Speaker 1: I'll just do it, say this is a great chance
Speaker 1: for you to lead. Instead of that's not how I
Speaker 1: would have done it, say I'm glad you tried that.
Speaker 1: What did you learn? Instead of you should start immediately,
Speaker 1: say here's the deadline you can prioritize as needed. And
Speaker 1: instead of let me take a look first, say I
Speaker 1: trust your judgment, Go ahead and send it. See the difference.
Speaker 1: One set of phrases tells people they're replaceable. The other
Speaker 1: tells them they're responsible, valued and trusted. So let's go deeper.
Speaker 1: Why does this matter? Because your words are your culture,
Speaker 1: the tone you set in your emails, your team meetings,
Speaker 1: your quick hallway conversations. They become the environment your people
Speaker 1: either want to stay in or run from. And look,
Speaker 1: leadership isn't about being soft, it's about being smart. There's
Speaker 1: nothing weak about empowering language. In fact, it takes more
Speaker 1: strength to say you've got flexibility, work how it works
Speaker 1: for you than to micromanage someone's schedule. This kind of
Speaker 1: language builds a leadership brand where people take ownership. They
Speaker 1: don't wait for you to make decisions. They act, they
Speaker 1: speak up, they grow, and isn't that what every leader
Speaker 1: wants anyway? So here's the challenge over the next forty
Speaker 1: eight hours. I want you to monitor your own language.
Speaker 1: Just listen to the things you say or type and
Speaker 1: ask yourself, is this building someone up or tightening the leash?
Speaker 1: Am I leading or just controlling? You don't need to
Speaker 1: change everything overnight. Start with just one toxic phrase that
Speaker 1: you notice you say too often. Replace it with an
Speaker 1: empowering version and test it and watch what happens, Watch
Speaker 1: how people react differently. You'll see it and once you do,
Speaker 1: you'll never go back to the old way ever again.
Speaker 1: So a quick recap before we wrap up. Here's five
Speaker 1: empowering swaps to keep your leadership toolkit sharp and ready.
Speaker 1: Thanks for raising that. Instead of don't challenge me, this
Speaker 1: is your chance to lead. Instead of I'll do it myself.
Speaker 1: What did you learn? Instead of that's not how I
Speaker 1: would do it. Here's the deadline. Prioritize is needed instead
Speaker 1: of start now, go ahead and send it instead of
Speaker 1: let me check first. They're small changes, but they lead
Speaker 1: to big trust. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,
Speaker 1: and I thank you for listening. For more Paul fell
Speaker 1: of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com